Golf balls typically contain materials that can be difficult to recycle. In particular, golf balls contain thermoset materials which, like rubber in tires, do not degrade and pose serious threats to the environment. In 1844, Charles Goodyear obtained U.S. Pat. No. 3,633 directed to sulfur vulcanization and further stated that “[n]o degree of heat, without blaze can melt it . . . It resists the most powerful chemical reagents.” Although Goodyear's sulfur vulcanization provided a significant breakthrough to the industrial revolution, he also created one of the most difficult materials to recycle. There have been many efforts to develop methods of recycling and reclaiming rubber, especially in view of the increasing amount of scrap rubber produced by items, such as tires.
However, there is no method to date that utilize high levels of pre-vulcanized materials in golf balls. Thus, a need exists to produce golf ball components with material properties modified by the use of high levels of pre-vulcanized materials.